The Mashreq Cashback Card is a free-for-life Visa built around one strong rate — 5% cashback on dining — with modest rates elsewhere.
- Annual fee
- Free
- Min salary
- AED 5,000/mo
- Top earn rate
- 5% Dining
- Earn 5% dining cashback (uncapped) AED 2,000/mo restaurants and food delivery AED 1,200
- Earn 1% on other UAE and international spend AED 3,000/mo of general spend AED 360
- Earn 0.15% on the bills bundle AED 4,000/mo across govt/utilities/fuel/telecom, post 13 Jun 2026 cut AED 72
- Fee Annual fee Free for life AED 0
- Net annual value AED 1,632
Pros
- 5% cashback on all dining, local and international, including online food delivery — among the best dining rates in the UAE
- Free for life, with no minimum spend and no monthly cashback cap
- Accessible from an AED 5,000 monthly salary
- AED 500 welcome bonus for new customers on AED 5,000 of spend in the first two months
- Cashback is plain AED, redeemable from a AED 100 balance
Cons
- Only 1% on general spend (other international and other UAE) — dining is the single standout rate
- Just 0.15% on fuel, utilities, telecom, education, government and rental since Mashreq's 13 June 2026 category cut (down from 0.33%)
- No lounge access or travel perks — this is a pure cashback card
- Cashback expires 36 months after earning and is forfeited after 12 months of inactivity
- 3.85% monthly (46.2% APR) — only worth holding if you clear the balance in full
Earn rates
Cashback is paid as a percentage of spend, credited in AED:
- Dining
- 5%
- Fuel
- 0.15%
- International spend
- 1%
- Everything else
- 1%
Fee summary
The card is genuinely free for life — no annual fee on the primary or any supplementary card, and no minimum spend. Foreign-currency transactions carry a 2.89% spread, and the retail rate is 3.85% a month (46.2% APR) — relevant only if you revolve a balance, which no cashback card rewards.
Welcome bonus breakdown
New credit-card customers earn an AED 500 welcome bonus (existing Mashreq credit-card customers get AED 100) for AED 5,000 of spend within the first two months — easily cleared by routing dining and everyday spend through the card from day one.
What you get — per-benefit value
The figures below use the current rates, including the 13 June 2026 cut to the bills bundle now in effect.
5% dining cashback (uncapped)
AED 2,000/month of restaurants and food delivery is AED 100/month. Value to me: AED 1,200/year at that spend — and because there is no cap and no minimum spend, a heavier AED 4,000/month dining habit banks AED 2,400/year. This line is untouched by the June change.
1% on other UAE and international spend
AED 3,000/month of general spend: Value to me: AED 360/year.
0.15% on the bills bundle (since 13 June 2026)
Government, utilities, education, charity, fuel, rental and telecom. AED 4,000/month across the bundle returns AED 6/month. Value to me: AED 72/year — rounding error. Route bills elsewhere.
AED 500 welcome bonus
For new Mashreq credit-card customers on AED 5,000 of spend in two months (AED 100 for existing customers). Value to me: AED 500, one-time.
Total package: ~AED 1,630/year on the worked spends (AED 1,200 dining + AED 360 general + AED 72 bills) against a AED 0 fee, plus the one-time AED 500 welcome. Free-for-life means every dirham is net; the honest reading after 13 June is that this is a dining card with a 1% tail, not a household-bills rail.
Key conditions to know
- What counts as dining
- The 5% rate applies at merchants coded as restaurants, including online food-delivery players. Category coding is set by Visa, not Mashreq, so an occasional venue may miscode.
- Excluded spend
- Balance transfers, local cash advances, credit-card cheques, fees, reversed transactions and utility bill payments made through Mashreq’s own channels do not earn cashback.
- Redemption
- Redeem from a AED 100 cashback balance via the Mashreq app or online banking. Cashback applies to your card balance but does not count toward the minimum payment due.
- Expiry
- Cashback expires 36 months after it is earned, and accumulated cashback is forfeited if you earn or redeem nothing for 12 months, or if the account is delinquent.
- Eligibility
- Minimum monthly income AED 5,000; UAE residency required. Available to salaried and self-employed applicants.
Watch out for
- It’s a dining card. The 5% rate is the reason to hold it; at 1% on general spend it is a poor everyday earner. Pair it with a stronger flat-rate or category card.
- The bill-bundle cut. Since 13 June 2026 the government/fuel/utilities/telecom rate is 0.15%, down from 0.33% — close to nothing on those categories.
- Redeem periodically. Cashback expires after 36 months and is forfeited after a year of inactivity — don’t let a balance sit.
- No travel perks. No lounge access or travel cover; the extras are merchant offers.
Is it worth it?
For a heavy diner, the Mashreq Cashback Card is one of the easiest free-for-life cards to justify in the UAE: 5% on every restaurant and food-delivery transaction, uncapped, with no minimum spend and a low AED 5,000 salary bar. Used as a dedicated dining card it pays back quickly with nothing to lose.
As an only card it disappoints — 1% on general spend and just 0.15% (cut from 0.33% on 13 June 2026) on bills and fuel mean a flat-rate cashback card will out-earn it everywhere except restaurants. Hold it for dining; spend elsewhere on something else.
Bottom line
A standout free-for-life dining cashback card, ordinary everywhere else. Apply if you dine and order in often and will pair it with a better everyday card. Skip if you want a single set-and-forget card — the 1% general rate undercuts it.
